"Leaf ninja are coming after you."
The was a long pregnant pause. There had been some tension in the room before but now, now it was threatening to boil over. No one else could go from having passionate sex one moment and the next moment engaging in emotional warfare. One felt too much and the other felt nothing. Black and white. Water and oil. So, on and so forth.
Sasuke was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees. He lowered his head to rest his chin in his palms, thinking over what his redheaded companion had just said. They really just would not quit, huh? They didn't let up. Sasuke had spent four years away from Konohagakure and in those four years his former teammates and classmates hadn't quit their search for him. The raven-haired man let out a long, annoyed and frustrated sigh before abruptly standing. He had been sitting there in nothing but his dark pants. Karin stood on the other side of the bed and backed herself to lean on the white painted wall, her hand clutching at her other arm nervously. She watched Sasuke start to get dressed and attached his sword to his hip.
"You're sure?"
He asked in a very low, shaky tone. Shaky from anger, not from anxiety or sadness. Nothing made Sasuke nervous, it was amazing to see, as Karin cracked under pressure and succumbed to her emotions usually. The redhead raised a crimson brow at his question and scoffed under her breath. She wouldn't lie about something serious like this. No, that's a lie. She would. Manipulation wasn't beyond her. But in this instance, it was the truth! She thought a moment before answering and debated giving him a soft-spoken answer, but she was so frustrated with her partner, she couldn't help but serve him some sass.
"Unless I hallucinated seeing leaf shinobi and having one of them attack me to get your location, then yeah, I'm sure."
Sasuke returned the scoff and lifted his head from staring at the floor and looked at her with a glare before looking her body over and seeing the wound on her arm through the torn hole in the sleeve from Akamaru tearing into her. He had noticed the gash on her forearm earlier but brought no attention to it.
"That's where you got that gash. Who were they and how many?"
The redhead nodded her head and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. He had brushed off her sarcasm and that was Karin's queue to get serious. Don't push. He was getting agitated; she could feel it in his chakra. She let out a soft sigh before she spoke.
"Two. A man, tall, brunette with red triangle marks on his cheeks. He was the one who attacked me. The other was a woman with short light-pink hair and light green eyes."
Sasuke winced at the description of the second ninja. He averted his gaze from Karin and returned to sitting on the bed. Karin stopped speaking seeing his reaction and took a step forward to comfort her partner but with a hand motion, he indicated that she stays put and continue the report. She complied.
"They both travelled with ninken. During my fight with the man, he demanded I reveal your location. I had no interaction with the woman."
Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno.
Images of Sakura came into Sasuke's mind. The image of the night Sasuke left Konoha. The girl had been so desparate to stop him. So desparate for him to not leave her. That night, he broke her heart and in turn it broke his as well. The raven-haired swordsman quickly composed himself and shoved the memories deep into his mind before he stood up again, walking past the redhead and headed for the door. Karin inquisitively shot a look at him and followed.
"W-where are you going?"
"To get Jugo and Suigetsu. Stay here."
The redhead frowned and took a step back before having the bedroom door slammed in her face. Rude.
The redhead smirked to herself, glad that he didn't order her to retrieve her teammates, like he usually did. He didn't usually do things himself.
It took Sasuke twenty minutes to round up the rest of team Hebi. Jugo was very easy; he had been sat outside the bedroom the entire time Sasuke and Karin had been in there. Clearly, he understood what was happening. Such a sweetheart. Sasuke let him into the room where Karin had lied down on her back and stared at the ceiling, using her index finger to twirl one of her red stands out of boredom. Suigetsu on the other hand had gone down to the local tavern down the road for a drink and to stuff his face with yakitori and kaarage. Sasuke appeared at the tavern to retrieve his teammate and filled him in on the situation as they made their way back to the inn.
The two men made it back to the inn and Suigetsu barrelled into the room aggressively, pointing a finger at the redhead only to see her in the same position she had been the whole time and Jugo was sat in front of the TV, sitting on the floor and staring into the screen, watching cartoons. He had never seen anything like it. Sasuke followed Suigetsu inside and closed the door, taking a spot in the corner and leaning against the wall, closing his eyes to ignore the drama that was about to ensue.
"There's leaf shinobi comin' after us and you didn't tell us 'til now!? The fuck's wrong with you?!"
The white-haired man was seething. What if she had been followed by others? what if there were more? who were they? She had put the team in danger he thought. Although he knew they could handle wimpy leaf ninja, it was a risk nonetheless and Suigetsu didn't play with his life. Karin jolted to sit up and was taken aback by the sudden aggressiveness and having someone yelling at her out of nowhere. What the fuck? Her mouth gaped and her crimson brows furrowed, and her eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"What? Slow down, you're spitting everywhere, it's gross!"
The water nin had rushed over to stand in front of her his feet at hers. Karin wiped some moisture from her thigh and grimaced. She stood up, going toe to toe with her teammate, crossing her arms over her chest and he turned around, walking away to go sit in a chair, sighing.
"You got your ass kicked by a leaf ninja and didn't tell us they're coming after us. Why?"
"I didn't get my ass kicked! We were evenly matched, thank you very much!" Lie. "I had to sacrifice my new perfume to win!"
Suigetsu growled and glared at her, baring his sharp teeth, waving a hand.
"I don't give a rat's ass about that, why didn't you tell us?! They're probably on their way here now!"
The redhead pressed her lips into a thin line and rolled her soft red eyes.
"Sasuke and I needed to rest. They won't get here for a while. I made sure to cover my tracks. All they have is a perfume I've never worn. They lost the track."
"How did they know you're with me?"
Sasuke piped up from the corner and Karin turned to face him. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink and she bit her lower lip, averting her gaze to the floor. The truth was she had been carrying one of Sasuke's sweaty shirts with her the whole time. It brought her comfort!
"The cloak. That's how."
'Bullshit' Sasuke and Suigetsu thought in unison. The raven-haired man had obviously calmed down and Suigetsu was coming down from his rage filled tirade. Karin could see they didn't buy her story, but she didn't care and she rolled her eyes. Before she could defend herself some more, Jugo had stood up from the floor and turned the TV off, standing beside the shorter redhead, towering over her.
"If I may interject, it would appear we are deterring from our mission. I have found out about multiple Uchiha hideouts. Itachi is located at one of them."
Sasuke pushed himself from the wall and walked past Karin and Jugo casually, walking to the large window to peer out of it before addressing his team.
"We leave as soon as possible."
Suigetsu stood up from the chair and the rest of the team nodded in agreement.
Karin's lips curled up into a small smile hearing the team leader's words as her mind drifted off to what would happen after Itachi's death. Finally, this wild goose chase would be over, and she would finally get her answers and clarity on her and Sasuke's relationship, since they would no longer be on a mission. That had been his excuse to avoid having a deep conversation. They had to keep focused on the damn mission. Tch, and he called her annoying.
"Karin. Keep watch on any foreign chakra entering the village. And take Jugo with you to get food."
The redhead grimaced at the orders he was spouting at her and scoffed, turning her nose up at the man she had just slept with.
"A 'please' would be appreciated, but since I'm also hungry, I'll do it. Come on, Jugo."
Suigetsu removed his sword from his back and sat back down in the chair, sinking into it completely, slouching in the chair and letting out a yawn followed by a low groan, annoying they weren't going to be sleeping anytime soon. Karin and Jugo gathered their bags and combined whatever money they had and left the room, leaving Sasuke alone with Suigetsu. Karin shot a seductive wink at Sasuke before closing the door. He stifled a chuckle before hearing the shark toothed ninja speak.
"So, who the hell are these clowns anyway? Are they strong? Can I kill em if they attack?"
Sasuke cringed and shrugged his shoulders casually, crossing his arms over his chest as he was leaned into the wall with his eyes closed. Suigetsu decided that slouching on the couch wasn't comfortable and he decided to take a spot on the bed, jumping in and laying on his back and swiped the TV remote, turning it on and changing channels nonchalantly, not really settling on one. There weren't that many to begin with, televisions were pretty new, and he had no idea how they worked, he just pressed arrow buttons and they changed channels.
"They don't matter. They're not strong and sure, kill them if you want, I don't care."
Only one of them mattered.
"Damn, that's cold, Sasuke. Weren't these people your friends at some point? How the hell do you turn the damn sound up?"
Suigetsu growled and slapped the remote on the back, not understanding how the damn thing worked. Fiddling with the remote as he spoke, he groaned in annoyance and tossed it on the desk across the room and let his head fall back into the pillows, blowing some white hair out of his face. Sasuke's expression never changed. It was almost like he was meditating without meditating. He was still as a statue and had the most neutral look. He spoke in a low, calm tone.
"I didn't have friends."
The water nin let out a loud guttural laugh at the leader's response and sighed.
"Now that's not true, didn't you have a girlfriend or something? Our little redheaded she-devil was pissed about it."
Wooden spoon in hand: Check!
Blazing fire: Check!
Cauldron: Check!
Time to stir the pot.
Sasuke shut his glistening onyx eyes shut tighter and gritted his teeth at Suigetsu mentioning Sakura without mentioning her directly. Having a predator like Suigetsu talk about her angered Sasuke. He had always been protective over the fragile pinkette and he had in fact been in a relationship with her. A relationship they kept under wraps and in the shadows. No one had ever found out except Tamaki. That cat lady was going to pay for this.
"It's none of your business. Don't speak about my past."
Suigetsu let out a chuckle and rolled over on his side, resting the side of his head in his palm, propped up on his elbow, looking in Sasuke's direction. Bright violet eyes gazing at the dark-haired man.
"Lighten up, chicken ass. Jeez, you get to fool around with Karin but won't even talk to me? I'm hurt, really." Sarcasm poured out of the water ninja and he slapped his hand to his purple covered chest, much to Sasuke displeasure.
"Again. That's none of your damn business."
The white-haired man smirked and grabbed his water bottle and sucked some water through his straw and sighed satisfyingly.
"Kinda is. We're teammates, aren't we? C'mon you didn't think you could sneak around when she's basically a banshee. What's that about? Is it cause she's the only thing available right now or do you actually like her?"
The sharp-toothed male shuddered at the thought of being with the redhead. Those two were like fire and ice. Water and oil. They hated each other. Sasuke on the other hand didn't feel that way and the antagonizing was starting to get to him. He growled lowly and almost inaudibly under his breath and clenched a fist against his chest, threateningly.
"That's enough, Suigetsu. I can send you back to Kabuto's fish tank just as fast as I got you out. Remember that."
Sasuke flicked his eyes open and his onyx irises had changed to a crimson red with black marks inside. He activated his sharingan to intimidate his teammate. It never really intimidated him, not much scared the white-haired man, but it usually got him to shut up. The other man simply smirked and lied back down on his back, kissing his sharp teeth.
"Alright, alright, I surrender. Y'know, you dodge questions more than I dodge Karin's bitch slaps."
Meanwhile, Karin and Jugo exited the inn and fell into step with each other. Jugo was significantly taller than her and most of the civilians who were out in the streets, granting them many stares and looks from people. He was an attention magnet. He was wearing his large black cloak with his purple curtain wrapped around his body under and black pants with dark shoes. Karin was dressed in her purple zip-up shirt, her tight black shorts and thigh high socks with heeled ninja shoes. Her usual attire.
She had been frowning as they walked feeling a little awkward that there was silence between her and the ginger beside her, and Jugo offered warm and kind smiles to the people who stared up at him. He really was a gentle giant when he wasn't on a psychotic rampage. Karin kept her gaze at the ground as she walked as she finally spoke up, trying to make small talk but also pick her teammates brain. She only knew about the experiments done to him as she had participated in them but knew nothing about the giant personally.
"Hey, Jugo. Have you ever been in love?"
The question didn't stagger Jugo or affect him in anyway that would have shocked him. He kept walking beside her as if she hadn't said anything and just smiled, keeping his gaze forward. He hummed for a little moment before nodding his head.
"I have."
The redhead's crimson eyes widened a little and she turned her head up, looking up at the ginger-haired male, her mouth gaping slightly. She didn't expect him to say that, but it brought on a suspicion of who he might have been in love with. She decided to ask her next question in a low voice. Maybe Jugo could be of some use to her.
"And how did you know the feelings were returned, if they were?"
Jugo lifted a hand and tapped his chin in thought before he stopped abruptly before a small restaurant, they could purchase take-out at. Karin followed suit and stopped beside him. Before entering, he decided to answer her question, turning to face and look down at the redhead, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Well, I suppose when they return acts of affection. When they protect you and keep you close? Of course, if they tell you they love you. That was how Kimmimaro behaved towards me. That is the only experience I have."
Hearing his words and his opinion, Sasuke had done three out of four of those conditions. Whenever they were in bed together, he rarely pushed her away and he did respond to her acts of affection. He had protected her many times and saved her many times. And he did keep her close, he always chose to sleep in the same bed as her after all and he didn't get rid of her yet. That had to count, right? The only thing is, he never told her he loved her. Emotionally stunted asshole.
"Yeah. That makes sense." The redhead looked up at him and smiled hearing about Kimmimaro and his' relationship. At least he had someone in that shithole of a dungeon. It warmed her heart to know he was loved by someone. He deserved it. Karin knew not to press further though, avoiding triggering the gentle giant. She opened the door to the little restaurant and Jugo followed her in to go pick up some food.
Sasuke loved her. She was sure of it.